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Pew’s Economic Mobility Project focuses public attention on the ability to move up or down the economic ladder within a lifetime or from one generation to the next. By forging broad, nonpartisan agreement on the facts and drivers of mobility, the project fosters policy debate and action on how best to improve economic opportunity and ensure that the American Dream is kept alive for future generations.
Why Economic Mobility Matters
For more than two centuries, economic opportunity and upward mobility have formed the foundation of the American Dream, and they remain at the core of our nation's identity. As policy makers seek to foster equality of opportunity, it’s critical that their decisions be informed by a robust and nonpartisan fact base on economic mobility.
Factors that Help or Hinder Economic Mobility
Economic mobility is influenced by a variety of factors including education, neighborhoods, savings, and family structure. Pew also strives to understand differences in mobility by income, race, and gender.
How We Conduct Our Work
Pew conducts research on economic mobility to inform policy makers and the public debate. We look at questions such as: How do children's opportunities to achieve the American Dream compare to those of their parents? To what extent is mobility affected by wealth, gender, race, and education? How do people’s mobility prospects differ depending on where they live?
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The LATEST from the Project
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- Media Coverage
- Economic Mobility Project
Tribune Media Services: An Uphill Battle for Generation X
The Pew Charitable Trusts' report explores how the Great Recession affected the wealth and retirement security of baby boomers relative to younger and older age groups. As it turns out, the downturn inflicted the greatest financial damage on Generation X, or those born between 1966 and 1975, who are now 38 to 47 years old. more
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- Media Coverage
- Economic Mobility Project
ABC News: Generation X Fares Poorly During Recession, Study Found
A Pew Charitable Trust study, titled “Retirement Security Across Generations,” examined the savings behavior of five age groups before the Great Recession hit and found that Gen Xers. more
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- Media Coverage
- Economic Mobility Project
AARP Blog: Recession Will Haunt Us Into Retirement
Retirement Security Across Generations: Are Americans Prepared for Their Golden Years? was done by the Pew Charitable Trusts to examine how the recession affected the wealth and retirement security of boomers compared with other age groups. more
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- Media Coverage
- Economic Mobility Project
Los Angeles Times: Today’s Retirees Face Declining Standard of Living, Study Says
The retirement crisis is deepening, with recent generations of Americans less financially prepared for their golden years than their parents or grandparents, according to a new study. more
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- Press Release
- Economic Mobility Project
Pew Finds Post-Recession Boomers and Gen-Xers Are Less Prepared for Retirement than Older Generations
A new study from The Pew Charitable Trusts, Retirement Security Across Generations: Are Americans Prepared for Their Golden Years?, examines the savings behavior of five age groups before the Great Recession. The research also explores how wealth losses during the recession affected each group’s retirement security by calculating replacement rates.
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